The oldest trick in a book
by pyometra
Summary: Tyki met his favourite author, but not quite what he expected to be.
1. Chapter 1

It was a grey afternoon as the clouds loomed over the sky, threatening to rain. Tyki took one last glance at the sky before returning to his walk in his human form. Tyki was holding onto Eez's hand to prevent him from getting lost in the crowd, while he tucked in other hand deep into his pocket, leaving only the thumb hanging on the edge of the pocket.

They halted at the entrance of an exquisite looking bookshop with its glass entrance of the café's door framed with dark maple wood.

"Stay here and don't wonder around Eez. I will make it quick, alright?" He patted Eez's head gently. Eez replied with a nod of his head.

He reluctantly removed his hand from Eez and reached out for the golden knob of the door. With that, he entered the shop leaving Eez outside waiting for Tyki to finish his errand. As Tyki closed the door behind him, he turned into his Noah, sashayed his way to the counter and greeted the old man behind the counter who was busy with his paperwork.

"Excuse me old man, do you have any new titles written by Selva Lestrange?"

"Her books will arrive shortly. In the meantime, you might want to browse through other titles. Any tea for you while waiting, sir? We have English Breakfast for today." The old man looked up from his glasses and pushed it up before replying Tyki.

"What a pity. I guess I will stop by another time then old man, I have an important guest waiting for me outside." Tyki turned his back and walked away from the counter. As the old man was focusing back on his paperwork, he took the opportunity to turn back to his human form before exiting out from the bookshop. He turned to the side of the bookshop where Eez was supposed to be there waiting for him but there was no skin nor hide of Eez.

Tyki began to panic and asked if anybody had seen a boy with blonde hair. He reached to the pier and saw a woman donned in a black dress which reached to her knees, accompanied by a black overcoat and a red scarf wrapped nicely around her neck. Her wine coloured hair swayed in the breeze before she tucked the hair behind her ear. Her look was completed by a silver framed, rectangular glasses which giving off a studious look. The lady was walking down a flight of stairs while reading a book off. Tyki decided to approach her and ran towards her direction. It was quite a distance before he stopped in front of her, panting.

Tyki bent down and used his knees as support as he was catching his breath.

"Are you alright, sir? You looked pale." Questioned the lady as she noticed a figure panting in front of her and immediately put away her book in her pocket.

"I am looking for a boy with this height with blonde hair. Have you seen him around?" Tyki managed to caught up with his breath and stood upright to respond to the question.

"No, I have not seen any boy according to your description. I have time to help you out. Do you mind?"

Tyki was delighted that someone was willing to help him out in his search for Eez, let alone the fact that he minded another helping hand.

"I don't mind at all! It's nice to have such a fine lady willing to help me out." Tyki was so excited that he couldn't contain himself, he reached out, took both hands of the lady and shook them hard.

"Well, I can't ignore a helpless person with such a concerned look painted on their face." The lady forced a smile on her face, feeling uncomfortable with Tyki's sudden gesture.

"It's hard to find such pleasant young-" Tyki's was immediately cut off by the sight of a Finder, who was approaching towards their direction. His grip on the lady's hands were both loosened.

"Miss Mar-" The lady threw a book directly at the Finder and hit his head.

"Bull's Eye." Thought Tyki. He was taken aback at the fact that she was an Exorcist and she was not wearing the uniform or the crest: which both are important symbols to show that you are a clergyman from the Black Order. Many questions were running through Tyki's mind but decided to put them aside as his priority was on finding Eez.

The Finder stood up and whispered to the lady's ear, an annoyed look formed on her face. She nodded her head and told the Finder to book a hotel for them to rest and that she would rejoin with the Finder once the business was finished; which was finding Eez. The Finder nodded and gave Tyki a quick glance and left both Tyki and the lady alone.

"Sorry, my assistant is a bit like my dad." The lady turned her attention back to Tyki with an apologetic smile.

"Nah, that's fine! Shall we start looking for Eez before the sky turns dark?" Tyki pointed at the sky. The lady followed Tyki's finger and noticed the sun sank lower in the clouds.

"Ah, you're right! Let's get started! Which area have you not cover?"

"Well, I have yet to cover the central square, pavilion and the cargo area."

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A/N: YAS! This is my first fanfic and it's really short(I know). I'm currently looking for a beta reader! If you're interest gimme a heads up and I will get back to you ASAP. Despite my busy schedule of work, voluntary work and personal hobbies, I will try my best to keep this update on a monthly base. Remember to comment below your suggestions if you have any. (:

And special thanks to ~vlefayne for dealing with my horrendous grammar and spelling mistakes! Do visit her page and read her creations!


	2. Chapter 2

Tyki could hear the scrape of their leather shoes hitting the concrete floor as their pace quickened. The sun was already dipping behind the clouds and both, Tyki and the young lady, were flustered as Eez was still not found.

"I will head over to the clock tower and look for Eez there. What about you?" As the lady pointed out to a grey building standing tall among the other buildings.

"Yes, please do. I will scan over the town again; we might have missed out some places."

The lady gave a quick nod before heading towards the direction of the clock tower.

She approached the entrance to the clock tower and saw that the door was unlatched, left ajar. She pushed the wooden door haltingly, a gentle breeze greeted her as she advanced into the clock tower cautiously. The interior of the clock tower was dilapidated, planks of wood were loose from the ceiling and dangling in the air, the wooden floorboard was full of holes and damaged crates were all over the place. Rats were scurrying back into hiding as she tiptoed warily, hoping the wooden floorboard wouldn't cave in. From time to time, she would yell for Eez, expecting a humanoid to emerge among the crates.

A thunderous bang abrupted. She paused in her tracks and instantly turned her head towards the direction where the sound was coming. Seemed like trouble, the lady ran out of the clock tower, ignoring the squeaking as she sprinted across the wooden floorboard. She hoped that Eez wasn't in the vicinity when the explosion occurred. She exited from the clock tower and caught a glimpse of a level one Akuma wandering in the forest. To avoid being sighted, she crouched and crept to a nearby tree, without leaving her eyes off the Akuma. As the Akuma floated further in the opposite direction, the lady reposition from tree to tree, making sure she kept a safe distance between herself and the Akuma. From the corner of her eye, she spotted a silhouette behind a tree. Her eyes widen in horror when she saw that silhouette belonged to a child. She took one last glance around the forest before the Akuma disappeared. She surveyed vicinity for the final time, before approaching the child.

Eez trembled in fear. The frightened child hugged his knees close to his chest and shut his eyes tight, praying for this quagmire to end. Eez heard a faint crunching sound gradually getting louder, he was planning to bolt out from his hiding when he felt a warm touch on his shoulder. The sudden gesture startled Eez, he shrieked and struggled to get away, but he was silenced by hand over his mouth.

"Shh... Not so loud. I'm trying to save you." The lady put a finger on her lips and whispered.

He stopped struggling but was still in the state of stock as his body was stiff. His eyes widened in horror, trying to understand the situation.

"Promise you won't scream when I release my hand, alright?"

Eez studied the lady carefully, hesitating if he should trust her. He could sense that the lady was getting slightly impatient waiting for his answer. He nodded his head in agreement and she calmly removed her hand from his mouth.

"Can you walk?" The lady stood up and offered her hand to Eez. He took the lady's hand as a support and stood up. He did not feel comfortable talking to the stranger, he looked down to the ground and nodded in agreement, not wanting to make eye contact.

"There is a clock tower at the end of this forest, we can hide there till dawn." She held Eez's hand and walked towards the direction of the clock tower. Silence filled the air, Eez continued to look down at the ground as they tracked through the forest, he took a peek from the corner of his eye at the lady who saved him. Her wine hair swayed from side to side as her feet crushed the leaves, her grey eyes were looking forward with confidence. After a while, the lady noticed that Eez was staring at her, she looked at Eez and gave an affectionate smile. Eez blushed at the sudden expression and returned his attention back to the ground. He could hear the lady mumble under her breath and chuckled to herself.

"Here we are! Just be careful when we're inside." An elated exclamation broke the awkward silence. The lady nudged the wooden door and stepped inside with Eez following her at back. Eez was not expecting the clock tower to be in such ruins. The lady released Eez's hand and scouted the area, as though she was searching for something. Eez decided to explore the area by himself. He found metals that were rusted and broken wooden crates shattered everywhere, he was hoping to find some ores or stone but was disappointed.

"Hey boy! Come here." The lady called for Eez, waving both hands in the air to indicate her position. Eez tiptoed his way towards the lady carefully on the wooden floorboard and saw a crate big enough to fit him.

"You can sleep in this small crate for the time being, and I will keep watch." The lady took off her coat and saw a uniform underneath. He seemed to find the uniform familiar but can't recall when he last saw.

The lady noticed Eez was staring at her again. He stood rooted to the ground, with a blank expression.

"Hello? Anybody in?" She waved her hand in front of Eez. Eez came back to reality and took a step back as the lady was too close to him. He replied with a nod of his head, the lady heaved a sigh and continued to place her coat inside the small crate. She patted on the coat a few times, inviting Eez into the crate.

* * *

A/N: Hey guys, another chapter up. I would love to hear your suggestions for the next chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

Eez hesitated, he examined the crate from a distance before walking towards and stepping into the crate. As he laid down in a fetal position, he felt a warm coat being placed on top of him gently. Despite sleeping in an uncomfortable position due to the lack of space, the coat managed to conduct some heat and made it very cozy for him. His eyelids felt heavy, Eez slowly drifted to sleep.

The lady watched Eez's diaphragm slowed down and knew that Eez went into a deep sleep. She sighed, a cold mist came out from her mouth. She looked up, leaning her head against the stone wall. She spotted a small hole at the top of the clock tower. The dark sky filled with stars shining brightly with hope. She regretted leaving her golem and finder behind and felt stupid for leaving her Innocence behind. She didn't have a choice since her Innocent was a big coffin and was forced to be treated as a large cargo. She knew that her Finder by now would have panicked at her disappearance as she knew that he is always a worry wart.

The cold breeze blew, she returned to reality. She shivered and hugged her knees close to her chest, wrapping her arms around and rubbed both arms up and down using her palms to keep herself warm. After she had given her coats to keep Eez warm, all she was left with it's a sleeveless top with a black ribbon tied around the collar and long red skirt reached her knees. As time passed, she continued gazed at the night sky and let her thoughts wandered.

She heard a creak and saw the door moved slightly, she hid among the crates and took a peeked to see who was coming. She saw a shadow crept through the door, a male figured stepped into the clock tower.

"Eez! Young lady! Are you both in here?" The male figure yelled.

The young lady stood up and waved her hands in the air, trying not to wake Eez from his deep slumber.

"There you are! Have you found-" Tyki joyfully walked towards her direction.

"Shsss! You will wake the boy up!" She placed a finger her lips and whispered to Tyki. It was loud enough to be heard despite the huge distance between her and Tyki thanks to the echo.

"I see he that is sleeping soundly." A smile appeared on Tyki's face as he whispered when he saw Eez curled up to fit into the small crate. He also noticed the coat was lined with gold colored linen together with the Black Order's emblem nestled at the left side of the coat. He smiled even wider at the sight of it.

"A general huh?" Tyki murmured under his breath.

He turned his attention towards the young lady, wanting to thank her but noticed that she had given all her coats to Eez to keep him warm, and all that she left was just her white sleeveless top and a long red skirt.

"Aren't you cold in that?"

"I am. But I can't bear to see a young boy being freeze to death." The young lady answered and kept her volume low, not wanting to wake Eez up. She took a place right beside the crate where Eez was sleeping in and sat down, hugging her knees to her chest once again to keep herself warm. Tyki shadowed behind her and followed her gesture, he took a place beside the lady, and both of them lapsed into awkward silence.

Tyki looked up and saw the starry night sky through the hole, it was one of those moments where everything was peaceful. He took a deep breath in and slowly breathed out through his mouth, releasing all the tension from the muscles accumulated from running around town to find Eez. Now he knew that Eez was in one piece and sleeping soundly, he could take this moment to relax and enjoy the view of the night sky together with a General, who might potentially kill him if his identity was leaked out.

"Miss, thanks for locating Eez." Tyki turned his head towards the young lady who buried her head in between her chest and knees. Tyki assumed that the lady was asleep and turned his attention back to the sky.

"You're welcome. It's my job after all to help those who are in need." the lady answered, slowly lifting her head up.

"What is your name, Miss? I would like to thank you properly this."

"Selva Lestrag. What about yours?'

Tyki's eyes widened with surprised as he slowly turned his head to her, his jaw dropped to the ground, leaving him speechless. He didn't expect to meet his favorite author in such situation, top it off, she is a General from the Black Order.

"Excuse me? Are.. you alright?" Selva waved her hands in front of Tyki.

"My apologies. I'm Tyki. Tyki Mikk. I got shocked for a while because you're my favorite author." Tyki snapped back to reality and answered Selva.

Did he know how to read? Did I underestimated him? Selva thought to herself and scrutinized him from top to bottom. Tattered white long sleeves paired with a pair of jeans full of holes doesn't made him appeared to be an educated person or any gentleman who was interested in books.

"Y..you're staring." Tyki felt intimidated by Selva's fierce gazed. A tint of red appeared on her cheek, she looked away and pushed up her glasses as both of them fell into awkward silence again.

"I..di..did not ex..expect y..you to be the stu..dious type." She failed to hide her embarrassment as she stuttered through her speech.

"Why? Is it because the way I'm dressed? Don't judged a book by its cover!" Tyki laughed while rubbing the back of his head. Selva's face was as red a tomato, this time, not because of embarrassment but her mistake for judging Tyki just by his appearance.

"So what was your favorite title?." Selva decided to change the subject to cover her mistake. She folded her arms while questioning him, averting her gaze away from Tyki.

"That would be The Hundred Year of Silence, I guess?" Tyki scratched his chin and pondered for awhile before answering the young writer's question.


	4. Chapter 4

"Huh? Why would it be that book?" Selva blurted out. The fact that Eez was in dreamland was dismissed from her mind. Her sudden voice caused Eez to shift uncomfortably in his sleep, Tyki placed a finger on his lips, to remind Selva that Eez was deep in his slumber. A tint of red surfaced on her cheeks.

"The suspense kept me enticed. You surprised me there, I didn't know exorcists have the time enough to write. You must be bored or have nothing else to do."

"I maybe be a General but most of the time I'm helping with- Wait! How did you know I was from the Order?"

"Well, your uniform gave you out."

Selva gave him a suspicious glance through her peripheral vision before setting her glance in the opposite direction. Not many people knew about the Order unless they had a business or family relationship with someone inside. The man mentally heaved a sigh of relief; he can't have her harbor any suspicions towards him, for Eez, Momo, and Clarke's lives are at stake if he exposed his Noah's identity. Who knew what will the Black Order do if they discovered that they're associated with him. After all, he had heard many stories of how the Black Order tortured and experimented on humans.

"You said you are helping with something in the Order? What was it?" Tyki took a box of cigarettes out from his pocket and helped himself with a stick, placing it in his mouth.

"Well, I help the Order to get revenue by selling their technology."

"That's something a woman should not be doing. Were you-?"

A short paused was formed. Tyki recalled that the Duke of Millennium recently had some business for the whole of next week.

"Was I what? Speak your mind." Selva asked, deadpan, as she continued to gaze across the clock tower.

"Don't mind if I ask you, were you in some debt or is this a family business?"

"I volunteered myself into this."

Tyki's eyes widened with surprise. During that time, it was a taboo for women to run their own business. He questioned Selva's action, and she nonchalantly replied him with one word: "Satisfaction".

"So, I presume you're here for business."

"Businesses. I have to submit my new book to the bookshop, and there is a banquet going on tomorrow night for ministers, generals, and merchants."

Tyki fully knew well what was going on tomorrow night. He was one of the attendees together with the Duke and his brother, Minister Sheryl. He stated to Selva that a formidable merchant would be attending the banquet tomorrow night and appealed to her to withdraw knowing that the Duke would succeed in his business plans.

"If there is a need to have an order war between me and him then let it be. If he is really that formidable like what you said, all the more I got to give in my best to defeat him, isn't that right?"

 _You're stubborn._ It was the first thing that came to his mind as he took a puff from his cigarette. He continued trying to convince her with various reasons and excuses hopefully that she would pull out from this business opportunity. No matter what he came out from his mouth, Selva just brushed it off with either a smile or replied him that when that time comes, she will make her decision to back out gracefully from the field if needed.

The shining yellow sun started rising from the ground. It filled the sky with mighty colours of red and splashed the clouds with endless rays of pink. The rays shone onto the clock tower and painted its stone walls of the clock tower. Eez fluttered his eyes as the warm rays touched him, telling him that a brand new day has arrived. He pushed himself up to a sitting position and rubbed his eyes, raising his arms above him and gave himself a good stretch before turning his attention to the couple. His cheeks flushed to the color of scarlet.

Tyki had laid his head on Selva's shoulder, leaning against each other for support. _Should I wake them up?_ Eez was observing the couple until Tyki shifted in his sleep, causing Selva to wake up from her slumber. Tyki opened his mouth and gave out a loud yawn, stretching himself while Selva slumped on the wooden floor with a loud _thud_ and fell flat on her face.

She pushed herself up at snail's pace, a light bruise formed on her forehead as an indication of the impact from the wooden floor to her face. Both Eez and Tyki shifted their attention to Selva.

Groaning at that how great the morning call was, Selva stood up and rubbed her forehead to soothe the pain. Tyki apologised for his sudden movement while Eez climbed out of the crate which he was previously sleeping in, and picked up the coats that were keeping him warm from the chilly night. He placed the coats on his forearm before returning to Selva.

She expressed her thanks, retrieved the coats back from Eez, and donned her coats back on. Tyki stood up and held Eez's hand, telling him not to wander off by himself again, Eez looked down and gazed on his feet, muttered apologetic words and agreed not to do it again.

Along the way back to the town, Selva was curious about the relationship between Tyki and Eez as she listened to how the both of them communicated, which piqued her curiosity, and questioned Tyki if Eez was his illegitimate son. The older one refuted at her which caused her to stop her tracks with eyes widen. Eez looked slightly disappointed and looked away from the both of them. A blanket of silence covered the trio. Tyki rubbed the back of his head and explained to her how he found Eez on the streets. A soft _ohh_ came out from her mouth as she continued her pace followed by the two at the back, leading the way back to town, and allowed those two to have some bonding time together.

As the trio was about to reach the town, Selva spotted her Finder at the entrance of the town anxiously waiting for her as he paced up and down until he saw Selva waving at him at a distance. He yelled for her and ran towards her direction like a lost child finally got to reunite with his mother. This caused everybody to divert their attention to both Selva and the Finder.

When the finder reached her, he leaned in and whispered into her ears as he was trying to catch his breath, which tickled her ears, causing her to wince slightly away from the Finder. The Finder reported on the sightings of the infamous Noah family and advised her to be extra careful during the banquet tonight. Selva distanced herself away from the Finder and gave a slight nod and ordered him to get more information on the attendees for the banquet tonight. The Finder noted on his order and set out for his mission leaving Selva together with the duo, who were sashaying from behind.

Once they have regrouped, Tyki expressed his gratitude and offered Selva a meal as a token of gratitude for helping him find Eez. Tyki added a warning advice for Selva to be careful especially when she is alone. A grin was formed on her face as she walked away from the duo, waving her hand in the air before sliding into her pocket.

At nightfall, the banquet was decorated with exquisite decorations and well-lit lights, making it the most prominent grey building for tonight. Carriages were lined up in an orderly manner outside the building and footmen offered their hands to help the aristocrats out of their carriages. Some aristocrats gathered outside to catch up with gossips while the remaining entered the building. When the Noah family arrived, everybody focused their attention at them, with the Duke of Millennium in the lead followed by Sheryl and Tyki. The ladies were eager and hoping to get to dance with the bachelor, Tyki Mikk. He was every girl's dream, oblivious that he was an assassin for the Noah family, loved to fish for fresh Koi as food, and dressed as a vagabond to hang out with his hobo friends. The trio were forced to stop occasionally as aristocrats greeted them.

Shortly after the Noah family's arrival, the representative of the Black Order made her appearance. The whole atmosphere changed the moment she stepped out of her carriage, the ladies changed their gossip subject to her as their eyes lingered on her. Selva was donned in a low cut, off shoulder black dress, slightly showing off her cleavage.

Trailing behind her was her Finder dressed in a tuxedo who looked slightly nervous as he had never attended such prestige event. She thanked the footman and walked towards the entrance to the building, occasionally stopped by a few gentlemen that tried to flirt with her but was dismissed by her disinterest.

The commotion caused Tyki to look behind. He spotted Selva from afar as she was surrounded by a group of men trying to get her attention. Looking at those men trying so desperately caused Tyki to chuckle. From the Duke's peripheral version, he noticed Tyki set his attention on the Order's representative and observed abit longer before informing the younger Noah that it's time for the banquet. Tyki gave a quick glance before returning his way into the building.

"Tyki, do you know that the lady back there was a representative from the Black Order?" As the trio was being led to a table, the Duke questioned the younger Noah.

"No, I don't. Why would the Black Order sent a woman here?" Tyki responded to the Duke's question.

"Lulubell has yet to find out. Apparently this exorcist was supposed to be killed but the akuma failed to do so which led her into a coma. After a few months, she woke up and managed to climb her way to be a General." the Duke surmised Selva's identity as the waiters pulled out the seats allowing the Duke to take his seat first, followed by Sheryl and Tyki.

The Duke commanded the younger Noah to get information from the young female representative of the Order by to seducing her. Tyki furrowed his brows in disapproval and rejected the Duke's idea, trying to persuade the Duke that this was not a good idea. Partially because he was afraid that Selva was able to recognized him and if she knew he was part of the Noah family, what would happened to his hobo friends?

"C'mon! You're my younger brother. I'm pretty sure with your expertise at seduction, she is more than willing to open more than her mouth." Sherylchimed into the conversation. Tyki was shooting daggers at Sheryl's comment.

The waiters ignored Sheryl's crude comment and continued with their service, placing the towels on the each of their laps. Tyki frowned at Sheryl, rejecting the idea, afraid that Selva will found out his identity. The Duke gave out a cough, reminding them of their place. Both Noahs straightened their sitting positions and changed their conversation to a more appropriate one as the waiters brought out the menus for them. Tyki immediately flipped to the fish section while the other two Noahs took their time to pick their choices.

The other aristocrats started to settled into their seats and picked out their choices to the waiters. While the more hubris aristocrats were more malevolent to the waiters and treated them as slaves with their unreasonable requests.

Thankfully with the Finder's help, Selva managed to get rid of the hungry pack of men. She heaved a sigh of relief as she entered the banquet together with her Finder. The high-class environment caused the Finder to hyperventilate. While being led to their table, Selva noticed that her Finder's was busy fiddling the hem of his tuxedo and his pupils were darting around the room. Selva placed a hand on the Finder's shoulder, comforting him and apologised to him for dragging him into such gathering that he was not prepared for it. She accepted his behaviour and can't blame him as he came from a low-class family.

As they settled down to their table, the menus were presented to them. The Finder flipped opened the menu, and his eyes widen with horror. He could not understand a single word on the menu. He continued to flip the menu anxiously, hoping for a graphic to depict the food in the menu.

 _Stop that._ Selva commanded, causing the finder to halt. Selva groaned and pacified the Finder down before helping the Finder to pick his food and taught him some simple words on the menu. After her short lecture with her Finder, Selva signalled for the steward who stood a few feet away from her.

"An excellent choice, Miss Lestrag." The waiter curtsied and left with your orders and menus. A different steward came with two sets of silverware and laid them out on the table. Selva thanked steward and waited for him to leave before coaching the Finder on the uses of silverware as she did not want to shame her Finder in front of the steward that this guy in a tuxedo has zero dining etiquettes.

After a first-rate dinner, all tables and chairs were being pushed away for the dance. The ladies immediately gathered like bees around the young bachelor Noah. Tyki had no choice but to accept each lady's request to dance. Occasionally, Tyki would cast a glance at Selva's direction, not forgetting the Duke's order. She was encompassed by a group of the gentleman, asking for permission to dance. She accepted a few and joined her partners onto the dance floor. While her Finder tried his best to entertain a few ladies to get information.

Tyki saw his target curtsied to her dance partner, he forced his way through the crowd and approached her despite being occasionally stopped by a few ladies requesting for a dance. He rejected them politely. Tyki's appearance made the men surrounded Selva stepped aside, as though they're making a way for VIP. Tyki curtsied and introduced himself to Selva as Lord Mikk, wishing that she won't recognised him. Selva paused before reaching out to the hand that offered to her and did the same to Lord Mikk, without knowledge the man in front of her belonged to the Noah family. Her enemy.

"Such coincidence. Yesterday, I just met someone with the same last name as you. Is your last name common here in Portugal?" Selva had questioned the gentleman before he placed a quick pecked on the back of her hand.

To prevent her suspicions from raising, Tyki answered that it was a common last name and swiftly changed the topic by complimenting her appearance and that her presence would lit the dance floor and invited her for a dance.

Selva accepted his invitation and both of them waltz on the dance floor. Tyki thought this was an excellent opportunity for him to get more information from her. Hoping that by complimenting her looks and capabilities like how did he with the other females will obtain some useful information.

"You must be capable women since you're the representative of the Order." Tyki whispered into her ears as he was closing on her.

"Lord Mikk, I'm afraid that you have overestimated me. I'm just an amateur trying to learn the ropes." Selva answered with an offended tone. Her suspicion towards Lord Mikk grew. She detested how men tried to get intimated with her using this ploy.

"I'm pretty sure you're here not only to learn the ropes. Am I right?" Tyki tried his luck to probe even deeper, not taking note of her offended tone. That sentence caused a red flag to raise in Selva's mind. She continued to plaster a smile on her face to cover up her suspicion, making a mental note to make sure to tread cautiously around this man. She praised Lord Mikk's correct assumption and revealed that she was here to sell the Order's technology. Tyki scowled at her at replied, he did not like the idea of how the Order sent a young girl to a feeding ground, selling their technology on their behalf while they are safely hiding in their what he called, cave.

Despite Tyki's endless flirting with Selva, he did not get any information out from her. Both parties curtsied and thanked each other. Tyki added that he would love to see her again, Selva gave Tyki a genuine smile and promised that they will meet again. Tyki was slightly taken aback by her response. With his previous flirtings during the dance, he did not manage to get Selva to smile and only be to return with many retorts by her. Selva bid Tyki farewell before leaving Tyki alone on the dance floor, stood rooted to the ground in awe.

It took Tyki awhile to process his thoughts and went back to the Duke's side, reporting his failure. The Duke was slightly upset with Tyki's effort and reprimanded him for not trying hard enough. Feeling frustrated due to the Duke's accusation, Tyki expressed his difficulties to the Duke. The Duke understood and assured the younger Noah that he had a new plan to counter the young representative from the Order.


	5. Chapter 5

As they settled down to their table, the menus were offered to them. The Finder flipped opened the menu cautiously, his eyes widen with horror. He could not understand a single word on the menu and continued to flip the menu anxiously, hoping for some sort of picture or any form of illustration to depict the food in the menu.

 _Stop that_. Selva commanded, causing the finder to halt. She sighed before pacifying the Finder and offered to help him to pick his food while teaching him some simple words on the menu. After her short lecture with her Finder, Selva signalled for the steward who stood a few feet away from her.

"An excellent choice, Miss Lestrag." The waiter curtsied and left with the orders and menus. A different steward came with two sets of silverware and laid them out on the table. Selva thanked steward and waited for him to leave before coaching the Finder on the uses of silverware, not wanting to shame her Finder in front of the steward. The Finder thanked Selva in his heart for helping him to cope in such situation and not embarrassed him.

After a satisfying dinner, all tables and chairs were being pushed away for the dance. The ladies immediately gathered like bees around the young bachelor Noah. Tyki had no choice but to accept each lady's request to dance. Occasionally, Tyki would cast a glance at Selva's direction, waiting for this turn to execute the Duke's order. Selva was encompassed by a group of the gentleman, asking for permission to dance with her. She accepted a few and joined her partners onto the dance floor while her Finder tried his best to entertain a few ladies, to obtain information.

Tyki saw his target curtsied to her dance partner and immediately took action. He forced his way through the crowd to approach her despite being occasionally stopped by a few ladies requesting for a dance. Hastily rejecting them politely, Tyki's arrival made the men surrounding Selva stepped aside, as though they are making a way for a VIP. Tyki curtsied and introduced himself to Selva as Lord Mikk, hoping that he would not be recognised. Selva's started to dart around his face, she found him familiar but can't seems to place it. Selva reached out to the hand that offered was to her and introduced herself to Lord Mikk, not knowing that the man in front of her belonged to the Noah family. _Her foe_.

"Such a coincidence. Yesterday, I just met someone with the same last name as you. Is your last name common here in Portugal?" Selva questioned the gentleman before he placed a quick peck on the back of her hand.

To prevent her suspicion, Tyki reacted hurriedly, saying that it was a common last name and promptly changed the topic by complimenting her appearance and that her presence would definitely lit up the dance floor. Bowing lightly, he invited her for a dance.

Selva accepted his invitation and both of them waltzed onto the dance floor. Grinning internally, Tyki thought this was an excellent opportunity for him to get more information from her. Hoping that by complimenting her looks and capabilities he would obtain some useful information, like how did he with the other ladies.

"You must be capable women since you're the representative of the Order." Tyki whispered into her ears as he was closing on her.

"Lord Mikk, I'm afraid that you have overestimated me. I'm just an amateur trying to learn the ropes." Selva answered, sounding thoroughly offended. Immediately, her suspicion towards Lord Mikk grew. She detested how men tried to get intimate with her using this ploy.

"I'm pretty sure you're here not only to learn the ropes. Am I right?" Tyki tried his luck to probe even deeper, unaware of her affronted tone. That sentence caused a red flag to raise in Selva's mind. She continued to plaster a smile on her face to cover up her suspicion, making a mental note to make sure to tread cautiously around this man. She praised Lord Mikk's correct assumption and revealed that she was here to sell the Order's technology. Tyki scowled at her at reply, he did not like the idea of how the Order sent a young girl to a feeding ground, selling their technology on their behalf while they are safely hiding in their what he called: cave.

Despite Tyki's endless flirting with Selva, he did not get any information out from her. Both parties curtsied and thanked each other for the dance. Adding that he would love to see her again, Selva gave Tyki a genuine smile and promised that they will meet again. Tyki was slightly taken aback by her response. With his previous flirtings during the dance, he did not manage to get Selva to smile and only be to return with many slightly offhand ripostes by her. Selva bid Tyki farewell before leaving Tyki alone on the dance floor, stood rooted to the ground in awe.

It took Tyki awhile to process his thoughts and went back to the Duke's side, reporting his failure. The Duke was slightly upset with Tyki's effort and reprimanded him for not trying hard enough. Feeling frustrated due to the Duke's accusation, Tyki expressed his difficulties to the Duke. The Duke understood and assured the younger Noah that he had a new plan to counter the young representative from the Order.

 _A/N: Special thanks to ~vlefayne once again for helping to edit all of my chapters and dealing with my horrendous grammar. I did received a few questions regarding about Selva. I apologised for being very vague about Selva's identity. So here are my answers:_

 _Q: How old is Selva?  
A: She is 20._

 _Q: Is this a Tyki X Selva fanfic?  
A: Maybe. But the chances are high._

 _Q: Isn't Selva a writer? Why such a big jump in occupation?  
A: Selva IS a part-time writer. She does writing on her own free time. _

_Q: If Selva is an exorcist, why isn't she killing Akuma?  
A: Due to the shortage of manpower, she volunteered to do this. She have her own reason to do it. She still do hunt Akuma when the time calls of it. (No worries, I won't leave that part out.)_

 _Q: What's her innocence?_ _  
_ _A: We all know that innocence is just a stone right? (enlighten me if i'm wrong.) She used the innocence to summon a Servant for the Holy Grail War. Inside lies the hound of Culaan. Just kidding, ignore the previous sentence. Her innocence is similar to General Cross. The coffin lies a half dead human called "Mimi". It will be revealed at a later chapter why and how she gotten her innocence._


	6. Chapter 6

Seated in the lounge area of the lieutenant's resident, Selva propped her arms upwards and rest her chin on the palm. She looked out of the window, relishing the scenery before the lieutenant's brisk arrival. Right across her was her Finder, fidgeting from discomfort as the decorations of the halls were too much for him to handle since he came from a poor family background. Selva glanced at him and sighed before returning her attention back to the scene, mentally cursing the Black Order for assigning her to such inexperienced Finder.

 _Something smells fishy._ Selva thought to herself as she took in the reflection of the lieutenant's assistant walking towards her direction. He was well donned in a black suit and his chocolate coloured hair was well shaven.

"I'm sorry, Miss Le Strag. The lieutenant is currently engaged with another meeting and is unable to meet you." The assistant curtsied and remained in his position, afraid to look up at Selva.

"Ah, that's okay. Do inform me whenever he is free to meet." Selva pretended that she was not wounded by the lieutenant's attitude and patted on his shoulder, thanking him before leaving with her Finder. Even though her eyes spoke volumes, she remained calm, stepping out with an air of confidence.

Once they exited the mansion, Selva began complaining at how she hated people like the lieutenant, who gave her lip service. Flapping her arms in the air with anger she mimicked how the lieutenant agreed to meet. The Finder was busy preparing the coach listened to her at a distance and shook his head in Selva's childish behaviour. Instantly, he understood why several Finders refused to work with her.

For the entire morning, Selva had been told the same excuse and was depressed with the state. Their current stop was at the beach, Selva stood upright with her hands on her hips, looking across the sea with her hair swaying in the breeze while the Finder was feeding the horse with various yields and vegetables, stroking its bridge of the nozzle. The horse chuffed in delight and gently accepted the apple from the Finder's hand and chew on it. The sun dipped lower in the sky, and the shadows were now twice as long as themselves. Selva remained in the same position without budging, the Finder sighed and questioned if Selva wished to change to a better spot as it is getting gloomy.

"It's alright! I just had an idea. Let's get going." Selva turned in response to the Finder's question with enthusiasm, eyes brimming with new found light.

"Do you desire to follow your schedule, Miss LeStrag?" The Finder finally relaxed his shoulder and questioned her next plan while getting up the horse for their next destination.

"No, I have a plan, just follow my lead." Selva walked towards the carriage with a new design in mind.

"Yes, ma'am!" The Finder held the reign of the horse and commanded the horse to start moving. Selva looked outside of the window with a smirk on her face, she believed that this round, victory was hers.

The Earl was having a dinner with another merchant together with Sheryl and Tyki at a fine dining restaurant discussing about politics and marriage. The merchant mentioned that he had a daughter who is still single and she is of legal age for marriage and was wondering if he could set up a date with Tyki as her daughter seems quite fond of him at the previous ball. Before Tyki could reject, the Earl agreed to the date. The Earl shot a glance to the younger Noah as a reminder that he has no say over this. After all, the Earl's purpose for this date was to get into his broker's good books. Tyki frowned darkly, flicking his gaze over to the Earl with a unexpressive pout. He wasn't too pleased with the idea - especially not when he had absolutely no say in it.

Sheryl placed his hand on Tyki's shoulder, giving a slight nod to the younger Noah, Tyki adjusted himself in his seat and agreed to date the merchant's daughter. _Reluctantly_. The merchant was over the moon when he heard both the Earl and the Kamelot family agreed to the date, he didn't mind using his daughter to climb up the ranks, greedily clapping his hands in delight. During their discussion, the merchant's assistant came in and curtsied, apologising for interrupting their dinner. He proceeded to whisper into her employer's ear, the merchant's expression changed after hearing the news from his assistant. Whispers were exchanged and the Earl could see the merchant was flustered. Blinking, the Earl watched intently when his assistant curtsied again and finally took his leave.

"I apologised for the inconvenience caused, Duke. It seems that I have to rush back to my land. Someone bought all the stocks and I'm in deep trouble." The merchant curtsied and hurried to the door before the Earl could speak.

Just in time, Lulubell opened the doorway. She moved to the side to make way for the merchant to hastily leave, almost bumping into her before she entered the room. She gently closed the door behind her and greeted the Earl, who stood in his place.

"Master Earl, we possess a huge problem. Most of our supporters have gone back to their country and is ineffective to continue business with us. What should we do then?"

The bombshell dropped, and the Earl was completely dumbfounded by the news Lulubell brought to him.

"Have you investigated who was the one behind this, Lulubell?" The Earl questioned the female Noah. Before Lulubell could answer the Earl's questioned, the ringing sound broke the conversation between the Noahs. The Earl cleared his throat as a signalled for the Noahs to be silent before he picked up the telephone.

"Hello? This is the Duke speaking."

"I'm deeply sorry as I can't support you any longer. My stocks were all being purchased over by someone and I need to rush back to my country. I heard that I'm not the only one who had this encounter. Do be careful Duke." The other participant hung up the phone, leaving the Duke speechless. The Duke gently puts down the receiver down.

"Regarding your previous question, It's an exorcist from Black Order, Selva Lestrag." Lulubell continued to answer the Earl's question.

"Good. Summon an Akuma and tell her that I would like to see her at the cargo dock at 12am. Alone." The Tyki's heart started to race. He mentally cursed Selva for not accepting his advice and now she is in deep trouble. Tyki was considering if he should inform Selva about the Earl's plan, but if she is an exorcist, that progresses to her as his enemy. Tyki conflicted between his choices. Well, she was not that bad, unlike all the exorcist he had encountered. But she had helped to find Eez, should he return the gratitude by informing her?

Lulubell curtsied before she left the room to carry out the Earl's order. Meanwhile, the Earl told the brothers to prepare themselves for the meeting at the cargo pier. Sheryl excused himself to prepare their carriage for the ride to the cargo dock, leaving the Earl and Tyki alone in the room.

"Earl, what are you planning to do with her?" Tyki questioned the Duke, who was taking his cane that was leaning against the dining table. His voice trembled and his eyes danced anxiously, darting to the Duke's own.

"Smitten with her already?" The Duke was teasing the younger Noah, causing Tyki to be speechless.

"No, I wasn't . I was wondering if you-"

"Want to kill her?" The Earl continued Tyki's sentence. Tyki paused, waiting for the Earl to speak and which he didn't disappoint.

"I won't kill her yet. Right now, she might be holding the whole entire stock market." Placing his hat on his head, the Earl motioned Tyki to follow him out of the restaurant and towards their destination.


	7. Chapter 7

Selva hopped off the carriage as it halted at the cargo docks before the Finder could assist her out from the carriage. Her hair and coat swayed along as the wind blew. Surveying her surroundings, she took note of three gentlemen standing across her, who seemed to be waiting for her to arrive.

"Miss LeStrag, you should have waited for me to help you get down from the carriage." The Finder looked down from the driver seat, with an irritated look plastered on his face. He was upset that Selva was not letting him to perform his job properly. The Finder turned his attention to where Selva laid her eyes on. He saw three gentlemen in their opposite direction and spotted Tyki Mikk, a Noah within the gentlemen.

The Finder was appalled by the sight of the younger Noah. Cold sweat started to form on both his palms and feet. He warned Selva about the Noah family as suspected that the two other gentlemen could also be a Noah or they're affiliated with them. He also added how vulnerable they are in their current situation, without her Innocence with her, she was incapable of defending herself. Not only Selva did not heed the Finder's advice, she instructed the Finder to park the carriage somewhere else and stay put until everything was over.

"Please, it's my job protect the General away from harm!" The Finder begged Selva to let him stay by her side, to protect her.

"It's just a small business talk. If anything happens, I can activate my innocence. I'm pretty sure it is inside one of these cargo boxes. Now, move!" Selva shooed off the Finder whom reluctantly followed her order and rode off to away with the carriage. Her intention was to remove the Finder away from the conversation she was going to have with the Duke, just in case the Finder informed the higher ups at the Order about her conversation between her and the Duke. She had a plan. Once the carriage was not in sight, Selve shove her hands into her pockets and approached the three gentlemen with forethought.

From distant, the Earl saw a figure approaching towards their direction, he mentally identified that it was Selva and informed the Noah brothers that their guest has arrived, alone as promised. With each step Selva took, Tyki was restless. It was only a matter of time before his identity would be exposed. And if she managed to get out of this meeting alive, she might informed the Order about Momo, Clarke and Eeze relation to him, to the Noah Family. Tyki bit his bottom lip nervously. The Black Order do not treat those related to the Noahs with kindness. He avoided as much eye contact as possible with Selva, silently hoping that she would not recognise him.

Weird. Why aren't they armed? The first question that came to her mind as she scrutinised the three gentlemen. Soon, her eyes were darting around the cargo boxes, searching for any opportunity for ambush. While Selva was surveying the environment the Earl was watching her behaviour and concluded that she was indeed, cautious. Her train of thoughts was broken by a husky sound, apologised to her for a last minute meeting at an unfitting place for a lady like her.

"I'm sorry this was on such a short notice, Miss LeStrag. Thank you for coming." The Earl curtsied to Selva as she was in his sight.

"Please don't worry about it, Duke." Selva curtsied back to the Duke.

"Don't take it the wrong way, but are you armed?" Selva questioned the Earl as she locked her grey eyes on the Earl.

"Armed? Oh, please. I'm not planning on "teaching you a harsh lesson" or anything similar to that. Don't worry." The Earl spread his arms to show what he meant. To the Earl, the lady who stood ahead of him looked as though she posed no threat. Yet, she managed, not only to buy all of his stocks and his brokers' stocks, but also push them back to their country all in one night. He couldn't fathom out how she managed to do it.

Bullshit. She thought as she squinted her eyes at the Earl's previous sarcastic gesture. The Earl was obviously fooling around with her. She knew by his gaze that he was just toying with her, like a puppeteer with strings.

"This is the Minister, Sheryl Kamelot. I'm pretty sure you know him. And to my right is…" The Earl continued by introducing the next gentleman to Selva. Tyki's heart was racing. This was it, he was hoping for an opportunity to kill her. Tyki did not care if she was the one who helped him find Eeze. As long she she posed a threat to any of his family members, he was prepared. Prepared to even kill her.

"Tyki Mikk. He is the younger brother of Sheryl."The Earl finished his introduction. Tyki swallowed his saliva, causing his Adam's apple to bob up and down. He averted his gaze as Selva was glancing at him. I see. Now that explains why he seems to be avoiding me. Something clicked in her head as she continued to stare at Tyki. A small grin formed on her face.

"It was a pleasure to meet the two young gentlemen. But I fear I have to warn you. Suspicion developments will be answered in kind." Selva placed her hand on her chest, mimicking the Earl's previous sarcastic gesture. "You're dead if you don't obey", huh? Selva thought the Earl was ungentlemanly for bringing two backups with him and one of them was a famous assassin for the Noah Family who was also a guardian of a kid. She could not wrap her head around Tyki Mikk about this behaviour and character. Why was he acting differently?

"Don't be so stiff, Miss Lestrag. By the way, may I asked why a pretty young lady like you would doing this on the Order's behalf?" This was the only bit that the Earl was curious about Selva. And also the only bit why the Earl kept her alive until now. The Earl was also able to understand why Tyki had troubles with her. No matter what he said, her guard was strong and up. No signs of falter. Selva answered the Earl that she simply volunteered herself to do it because following the Order's "normal" mission was a bore to her, but the Earl did not buy that.

"I should have realised when we first met. That face of yours, is a mask." The moment the Earl spoke that sentence, Selva's grin immediately turned into a frown.

"Then I assume that you know what are my intentions when I drive your supporters back to their country. I would expect nothing less from The Earl of Millennium. Or should I say, Adam?" At that, both the younger Noahs were on edge when the they heard Selva spoke of the Earl's true name. Meanwhile, Sheryl was aching to break every single of her bones for disrespecting the Earl. It was disrespectful, unacceptable. Tyki bared his teeth, poised to attack but The Earl raised his hand up to signalled for the younger Noahs to calm down.


	8. Chapter 8

The air was so brittle, it could snap. The tension was rising, anticipation and frazzled nerves jumped all together, all in four different directions. Both Tyki and Sheryl appeared as though they were ready to strike their prey. Selva's eyes darted between Tyki and Sheryl simultaneously looking out for both of them, internally making a guess whether they will charge at her first or attack together.

"Oh my, looks like not only I have a strong rivalry here but a stalker as well. By any chance, you might be interested in me? I'm starting to like you~ " A sing-song voice from the the Earl broke the tension followed by a chuckled, causing Selva to be taken aback. The last sentence caused a shiver down her spine. Goosebumps were forming on her skin, and she was thankful that it was covered by long sleeves. Both Noahs that were beside him stared at him as though he had grown two heads.

Doesn't he know that even with his fake age, if they were to be together, it makes him a pedophile. Selva's nose wrinkled at that thought. During that age of time, it doesn't matter if the man was of an older age than the lady. Shaking off that revolting image in her mind, she continued the conversation.

"I'm afraid you have misunderstood my intentions. I'm merely educating myself who are the big players in the industry. Once, someone told me that a boss should always smile, put on a steel mask and armor on your heart. I feel that these points are important and keep that to myself. Because of the trade we're in, even the cotton we're wearing will rot and fall into pieces." She felt a need to clear the air before the Earl gets the wrong message. Yep, push him back into the rivalry/enemy zone. She did not plan to develop such relationship with the Earl, especially her affiliations with the Black Order.

The Earl rubbed his chin in contemplation, absorbing each and every word that was spoken to him. In the pause of the moment, Selva noted that Sheryl watched with wary eyes, narrowed, rigid and hard. With pursed lips, Sheryl spoke up quickly, glaring accusingly back at Selva. "So you're saying that if someone was naive enough to walk with two bodyguards should retire before they burn their hands, am I right?"

"No, that's not my point. But I do have my own opinion, Minister Sheryl." Selva rejoined hastily, folding her arms.

After a short brooding session, the Earl put his hand at his back and joined back the conversation. "I don't want you to think i'm weird, Miss Lestrag. But-" There was a pregnant pause. The silence, strangely unbearing caused the other three to glance furtively at him. That sentence did not seem as if it was something he would say, even as emotional and eccentric as he was. Sheryl and Tyki knew best when it comes to his mood swings. The three of them were waiting for him to continue his sentence to which he did not disappoint.

"But ever since I saw how my supporters get hit by you and return to their country, I am slightly… excited to meet you. You're an exorcist, I'm pretty sure you have a religion or something similar to help you with, no?" The goosebumps are coming back to Selva. Shivering at the word excited, his choice of words were a turned off for her. She was internally cringing at the Earl's behaviour towards her. Oh god, why is she attracting a dude who was a millennium old?

"I don't particularly believe in any ideology or religion. If you're wondering how I get my Innocence, all I can say it was pure coincidence." Her replied was merely just to entertain. Immediately, the three Noahs were surprised with her answer, their gaze now locked on her. Usually, an exorcist has certain beliefs towards God which made them able to use the Innocence. But for Selva, who was also a General have zero beliefs towards God was able to wield the Innocence. A thunderous laughter filled the air, the Earl's laughter caused Selva to be even more on guard. Once more, Sheryl and Tyki stared at him as though he had gone mad.

"We're pulling out of this order war. I admit defeat, Miss Lestrag." The Earl took off his top hat and passed it to Tyki as he sashayed towards Selva. Tyki instinctively reached for said item and looked at it. He looked up as he was going called out to the Duke, but was stopped by Sheryl who placed hand on his brother's shoulder. He shook his head and placed a finger to his lips, Tyki quirked an eyebrow to Sheryl. 

"Yesterday's enemy maybe your friend today. Finally, I have found a business partner who's got some power in her punch." The Earl placed both his hands on Selva's shoulders with a smile formed on his face.

Oh shit! Here we go. Selva stiffened at the contact. Tyki studied the interaction between the both of them. Scrutinizing Selva's action towards the Earl, Tyki held his ground, ready to attack in case Selva took a chance to assassinate the Earl. Meanwhile, Sheryl was explaining to Tyki about the situation. Indeed there was an order war going on between both Selva and the Earl. The Earl was using the finances of his supporters to helped him buy out his technology to create a fake number of buyers to show the Embassy that this technology was the best-suited product for his military defence. Because of that, Selva's back was against the wall and hence she had no choice but to ambush the Earl. Lulubell received an information regarding about Selva that she gave up, because of this information, the Earl let his guard down. We didn't know Selva had her own shell company to buy over all of the Earl's supporters' stocks.

"Yesterday's enemy maybe your friend today." He repeated the previous sentence again, making sure Selva got his point.

"You don't need to tell me twice. I understand you. What would be your point?" An anxious smiled formed on her face, mentally prepared for the worst.

"Take care of my supporters' stocks."

"I thought so. But it's not going to be easy."


	9. Chapter 9

"On a side note, would you let me buy back the stocks at a 5% premium price?"

Selva considered the Earl's request, it sounded profitable for her, but it wasn't good enough. "Err...what about 2.5%?"

"5%!"

"Are you even listening? Is this even negotiable in the first place?"

The Earl raised his hand in front of Selva, emphasising on the previous digit and his unwearying perseverance. Selva sighed and decided to give in to his request. "I will make an exception for you. What about 3% premium?"

"If that's the best I'm going to get today, I'm happy to accept that." The Earl released his other hand on Selva's shoulder. "I shall see you tomorrow at the embassy."

"Yes. Have a good night, gentlemen." She waved her hand in the air as she walked away from the trio and bid them farewell.

"What's our next plan? Do I have to kill her?" Tyki asked the Earl when Selva was earshot away from them. The Earl turned his attention towards the younger Noah, taking his hat back from him.

"Right now, she holds the majority of the stock market, which includes ours. Killing her won't get back our stocks. Our next plan is getting into her good books, as much as we despise working with an exorcist, we have to bite the bullet. Tyki, I will need your help on that." The Earl wore back his hat and sashayed closer to Tyki.

Not entirely satisfied with the Earl's explanation, he reluctantly agree with him. Sheryl clasped his hands together, caused Tyki to jerked slightly at the sound. He commented that today was an exhausting day and everybody must be feeling spent. He proposed everybody should head back and rest for the day. The Earl agreed with Sheryl and led the way towards their carriage. Tyki was lagging behind, engrossed with devising a plan to prevent Selva from informing to The Order regarding his human family. Asking both the Earl and Sheryl for help? It was futile. Especially for Sheryl, for he always regarded them as peasants and compared them to roaches.

At that moment, Sheryl's noticed the behavioural changes in Tyki. It wasn't usual for Tyki to be so absorbed in his own thoughts and decided to question him about it once they have settled in the carriage. The Noahs climbed into the carriage and the Earl commanded the driver to drive them home. Upon receiving the order, the driver pulled the reigns and the carriage started to move.

"What's wrong little _**brother? ~**_ " Sheryl's teasing tone caused a shiver down Tyki's spine.

"Stop that. It's creepy." He propped his elbow on the window sill and placed his chin on his palm, glancing at the view outside. He saw Sheryl's reflection peeking behind his shoulder, looking fixatedly at him. Tyki paid no mind to his brother's perverted gaze.

"Or are you afraid of monsters that lie beneath your bed? I will explain to Tricia that tonight I will be sleeping with you." And with that coming out of Sheryl he gave Tyki a sudden hug attack from his back, causing Tyki to jerk forward and slammed his face on the window. The loud thud caused The Earl to stop his knitting project and looked up at the commotion between the brothers before returning to his work.

Selva and the Finder reached the Hotel, the Finder informed Selva that her Innocence has been placed in his room and if she wants it to move to her room. She rejected the Finder's offer and explained to him that her Innocence might get in the way of her paperwork. The Finder understood and promised Selva that he would take good care of her Innocence before bidding her goodnight and retreat to his room.

She closed the door behind her and removed her garb, leaving a trail on the doned with a white long sleeved shirt, unbuttoned fully, leaving her cleavage and her panties in full view, she walked towards the dressing table and reached out to the bottle of red wine, inspecting the year of the wine printed on the bottle label before opening it. She poured a minute amount in the flute and walked towards the window, taking a sip from the flute.

Selva was recollecting today's event and was planning on what needs to be done tomorrow at the embassy. Panic stricken, she froze as she saw a humanoid shadow walked past her front door through the reflection on the window. She quickly placed her flute on the nearest surface and turned around to confront the mysterious figure. A gloved hand was placed over her mouth, preventing her from screaming upon the sudden contact on her. She jerked slightly as her back feeling the cold window at her back.

Her eyes widen in horror as she recognised the mysterious figure. The Noah stigma was across his forehead, his skin was clad in grey and his pair of golden eyes bore into hers. Tyki's eyes travelled down to her chest with every intention to dig her heart out but he caught himself staring at her cleavage for a good minute, enjoying the view before looking back at Selva.

 _He liked what he saw._ Selva looked right back at him with a playful look. Selva caught Tyki off guard and pushed him on his back. She straddled on his hip and placed her hands on his chest, slowly moving up and down, leaning into Tyki ears and whispered, "Did you like what you saw?"

* * *

A/N: AHHHHHHH ~ I'm so hyped while writing this. Thanks to my editor, **vlefayne** for cleaning up my horrendous grammar and spelling.

 **SPEACIAL THANKS TO THESE PEOPLE WHO FAV AND FOLLOW (You guys are the reason why I'm still reading this)  
** Everlasting XTC for following and favourite-d my fic  
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.lucky1


	10. Chapter 10

Tyki considered their current position and he was getting turned on, rarely women would straddle onto him, simply like that. "I did not take you for a dominant women when I first saw you."

"You have not seen all of me yet." Selva gave a playful smirked and moved away slyly, allowing the Noah beneath to do the same.

"Why are not afraid of me when I was going to assassinate you?" Tyki quirked his eyebrow as he questioned Selva. She brushed her hair away from her forehead and stared at the ceiling, pondering on his question. "What I should be really afraid of, are people with unknown motives."

She stood up and walked towards the bathroom, Tyki's eyes followed her direction. The white shirt that Selva wore barely covered her bottoms, revealing her red panty which turned Tyki on again. A trail of blood formed from his nose, he immediately wiped off as he felt the moist.

"Why are you telling me all these despite me being your enemy?"

Selva turned back, looked fixedly on Tyki with a pregnant pause. He was sitting on the floor, observing her, waiting for her answer.

"It's called the _Freedom of Expression_." She continued her way to the bathroom. Tyki heard the bathroom door closes and the water started running. He sat on the floor, scratching the back of his head, struggling to grasp her previous sentence. His trail of thoughts was halted as a continuous knock was heard, his gaze was fixed on the door.

"Miss Lestrag, I have brought some food for you." said the party on the other side of the door. Tyki sighed and revert to his human appearance before he answered the door for Selva. _Why am I even doing this?_ The Finder was taken aback when a male who was donned in tuxedo opened the door instead of his intending recipient. He did not expect Selva to have a visitor at this hour.

Tyki looked down at the Finder who carried a tray of food which consists of a bowl of soup and a few pieces of bread. The Finder stood dumbfounded in his position, it took him a few seconds to recover from the shocked that he received.

"S-Sir, may I k-know why are y-you in Miss L-Lestrag's room?" The Finder shuttered the question.

Tyki placed his forearm above him and lean on the wall, "I'm a man and she is a woman." He gave a cheeky smile to tease the Finder. Shades of red were formed on the Finder's cheeks, he apologised for disturbing both of them. The Finder stated that he thought Selva might be hungry after such a long day without dinner, hence he decided to prepare some food for her. Tyki took the tray from the Finder and thanked him for his kind gesture towards Selva. The Finder bid Tyki a good night and sauntered back to his room, without realising that he had been conversing with a Noah, his enemy.

Tyki brought the food in and shut the door behind him, placing the tray of food on the table. At that very moment, Selva had finished her bath. She walked out of the bathroom while drying her hair with a towel, donned in a black collared long sleeves shirt with white panties. She could smell the aroma of the soup from a distance.

"How kind of you to prepare a meal for me." Tyki noted on the strong sarcasm in her voice.

He rolled his eyes, "These are from your kind hearted Finder. He thought that you might be hungry. Thanked him instead."

"Who said anything about thanking?" She threw her towel on the bed as she walked towards her food. Being a gentleman, Tyki pulled out the chair for her to sit. Selva took the seat, pushing in her chair while Tyki took the seat opposite her. She took the spoon that was already provided and scooped up the soup, blowing lightly on it before consuming.

Selva paused for a moment, fully aware that Tyki was eyeing each and every movement of hers. She looked at her soup and back at Tyki. Tyki blinked his eyes and tilted his head to the side, quizzing her behaviour. "Is something wrong?" Tyki questioned the puzzled female opposite him.

"Do you mind waiting for me to finish my food before killing me? I do not want to come back as a hungry ghost. I'm pretty sure you do not like it either."

A sweatdropped formed on Tyki's forehead. _This woman is unbelievable!_ Previously he was trying to assassinate her and she just requested him to let her have a final meal. Sounds fair enough, yet coming from his victim was the first.

"I'm not going to kill you now." He sighed. Selva paused her meal, double taking his intention.

"Are you sure?" She eyed him suspiciously.

"There won't be any good books for me to read if you're gone." He turned his head away to avoid her scrutinising gaze.

"Hoho~" Selva covered her smirked with her hands.A light bulb lit up in her head, no wonder he looked so familiar. _So it was true that he was the hobo that she met not too long ago with a kid called Eeze!_ Tyki stared at her with a confusion, suddenly he felt that he should get away from her.

"Stop that, you sound like The Millenium Earl now." Moving his body away from her while Selva leant forward placing the spoon back into the bowl. Her fingers intertwined, placing her chin on top.

"So you're the hobo who knows how to read. No wonder you seems to be avoiding me from the start. Now everything starts to make sense!" Selva could not resist teasing Tyki after knowing his true identity.

"I understand why you want to kill me. If I were you, I might do the same. Or even worse." Tyki eyes widened in surprise at Selva's words. "You did it just to protect them. The thought of reporting back to the Order regarding about your human family have never crossed my mind. You can rest assured."

He couldn't believe his ears. Tyki could see that Selva was serious but he just couldn't believe it. A moment ago, he was trying to kill her yet she did not even thought of exposing his human family to the Order. His cheeks burned in shame. He had misguidedly misjudged her all this while.

"How can I be sure that you telling the truth?" Tyki questioned her, squinting his eyes in suspicion. Could he actually trust her? She is an exorcist. Never in his Noah memories, would any exorcist will show mercy to a Noah.

"I do not intend to side with the Black Order as you know very well that I just struck a deal with The Earl. " Selva leant back in her chair and folded her arms in front of her.

"Are you saying that you're going to-"

"I'm not going to change them from within, I'm going to break it." Selva cut Tyki off. A blanket of silence, Tyki stared at Selva with bewilderment. 

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A/N: My apologies! I just realised that Chapter 7 & 8 were all gibberish! Both chapters have been updated. Do keep your reviews coming in! I would love to hear from you guys :D


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